June 2013

During the Lenten Season, 2013, we had a series of sermons on the intimidating Book of Revelation. Although this idea initially caused trepidation for some, our interim pastor, Ted, reassured us that there was much good to learn from this daunting book. During the weeks of Lent, and even on to the end of May, he boldly preached from this text and, true to his word, provided many marvelous insights.

The worship committee had invited Elinor to create banners for this series. Many images in the book of Revelation are disturbing as well as confusing. Our hope was that depicting this book positively in some way would help to dispel the uneasiness and allow us to connect to the deeper truths of Jesus rather than focus on the unpleasant and scary parts. This is what Elinor had to say: “Several times in the past I have created a series of seven banners/posters for Lent [and] I enjoyed making them. The thought of doing this for the book of Revelation, though, immediately felt daunting and difficult. Revelation is not my favorite book, however it does have abundant visual descriptions. Many of them are bizarre—beasts with multiple eyes or seven heads and ten horns. It is a vision after all, full of lots of symbols. I felt quite overwhelmed at even attempting to portray any of it.”

She went on to say, “I sat down to read Revelation, making notes of things I could include in banners. Out of these many images and symbols I chose ones that I was attracted to or ones that I thought I might actually be able to draw. Many of the images felt like they were beyond my artistic abilities. The result is a mural of many different symbols and scenes.”

Elinor made her seven-panel mural into a large scroll, which was unfurled across the front of the meeting room, one panel at a time, over the seven Sundays of Lent.

Each symbol, or scene, has the biblical reference printed on it or near it, so that you can look them up if you wish. There are also a few symbols or scenes from other books of the Bible which tie in to or are parallel to verses in Revelation. Elinor did not emphasize the weird beasts and terrifying scenes, although she did include a panel representing the “darker” events described in Revelation. She also incorporated an image from a poster by Pat Marvenko Smith, which shows up near the end of the scroll, with her copyright on it. Below are images of the separate panels, with their corresponding list of Scripture verses.

This mural blessed each one of us for the four months it hung across the front of our meeting room, inspiring much meditation. There were so many images to ponder, beautifully portrayed and thoughtfully put together. It helped to de-mystify the book, motivated us to dig deeper, and instructed us in the beauty, power and hope found in Revelation. Elinor stated, “I hope the mural will help all of us to find positive images tucked away in the book of Revelation among the more startling and bizarre things that are described,” and for all of us, she succeeded. Thank you, Elinor, for your ministry among us.

FIFTH PANEL

Angel with the chain – Rev. 20:1
Angel proclaiming the eternal Gospel – Rev. 14:6, Luke 2:0-10
The Book of Life – Rev. 20:12
The River of Life with 2 Trees of Life – Rev. 22: 1-2, Rev. 22:14
The city – Rev. 22:5
Come all who are thirsty – Rev. 21:6b, Rev. 22: 6